1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to athletic equipment and in particular athletic supporters.
2. Art Background
The avowed purpose for athletic supporters is the support of the genitals and scrotum during athletic endeavors or during less strenuous activities. The supporters generally include a waistband, a downward and then rearward projecting pouch appended to the front of the waistband to support the scrotum and genitals and a pair of straps extending from the bottom of the pouch to separated positions on the waistband. Supporters are made in a few discrete sizes. However this concept of a few sizes fitting all is often unsatisfactory. Even if a generically sized supporter fits when new, lending some of the desired support, washings and use soon take their toll.
Attempts to extend the usefulness of supporters have often involved improvement of the materials, e.g., elastic materials. Some other approaches involve mechanical expedients. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,117, issued Dec. 15, 1970, describes an adjustable waistband having a fastener, e.g., a Velcro .RTM. fastener, to reduce or enlarge the circumference of the waistband. This adjustability does not significantly improve the support provided. An alternate approach to increased convenience (U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,357, issued Feb. 27, 1979) employs, as shown in FIG. 1, a pouch, 1, with no straps at the bottom of the pouch but having two adjustable straps, 3 and 4, attached to opposing ends at the top of the pouch and adapted to attach to the waistband of a separate garment, e.g., a bathing suit. Lack of straps at the bottom of the pouch significantly decreases support.
Attempts to compensate for the varying degrees of support required for different activities for the variety of human configurations and for the ranges of use have not been entirely successful.